I agree that there is not enough information available
on the history of museums. And, this is particularly
true regarding the history of the planetarium and of
physical science museums, relatively young professons,
which only really became popular in the mid-twentieth
century.
Here are some facts regarding "firsts" at Pittsburgh's
original Buhl Planetarium and Institute of Popular
Science:
The original Buhl Planetarium had several historic
firsts:
Ø First planetarium placed on an elevator, to
increase flexibility in the Theater of the Stars;
Ø First planetarium theater which included a
permanent theatrical stage;
Ø First planetarium theater (and, perhaps, first
theater) to install a special sound system
specifically for the hearing impaired—-remember, this
was in 1939;
Ø First publicly-owned building in the City (and,
possibly, the State) constructed with
air-conditioning;
Ø First permanent Siderostat Telescope specifically
designed for public use;
Ø First *regional* Science Fair for school students
in the country started at Buhl Planetarium in the
Spring of 1940. Only two state-wide science fairs are
older than the annual Pittsburgh Regional School
Science and Engineering Fair.
Additionally, for more than 53 years, Buhl Planetarium
housed an exhibit that was considered the largest
Mercator’s Projection Map [originally constructed for
the 1939 World's Fair in New York City by the U.S.
Maritime Commission] in the world! And, the Zeiss II
Planetarium Projector, which operated as the primary
educational instrument of The Buhl Planetarium and
Institute of Popular Science for nearly 55 years, was
the oldest operable major planetarium projector in the
world before being dismantled in October of 2002.
gaw
>>>Original Message:
>-----Original Message-----
>From: Museum discussion list
[mailto:[log in to unmask]] On
Behalf
>Of Hugh Genoways
>Sent: Wednesday, May 04, 2005 1:44 PM
>To: [log in to unmask]
>Subject: Questions
>
>Dear Colleagues
>
>Questions about History of Museums
>
>We all have heard of Peale's museum in Philadelphia,
the Charleston
>Museum, Silliman's mineralogy collection at Yale,
Academy of Natural
>Sciences of Philadelphia, and a little later P. T
Barnum's and Moses
>Kimball's proprietary museums in New York and Boston,
but I have some
>questions about the early history of other museums
and types of
museums
>in the United States.
>
>What was the first art museum in the U. S.?
>
>What is the longest operating art museum in the U. S.
that is still
>open?
>
>What was the first history museum in the U. S.?
>
>What is the longest operating history museum in the
U. S. that is
still
>open?
>
>What was the first state historical society in the U.
S.?
>
>What was the first historic house museum in the U.
S.? (Not the
oldest
>house that is now a museum, but the first to be
operated as a museum)
>
>What is the longest operating historic house museum
in the U. S. that
>is still open?
>
>What was the first specialty museum in the U. S.?
What was its
>specialty?
>
>What is the longest operating specialty museum in the
U. S. that is
>still open? What was its specialty?
>
>What was the first sports museum in the U. S.?
>
>What is the longest operating sport museum in the U.
S. that is still
>open?
>
>What was the first living history museum in the U.
S.?
>
>What is the longest operating living history museum
in the U. S. that
>is still open?
>
>What was the first botanical garden in the U. S.?
>
>What is the longest operating botanical garden in the
U. S. that is
>still open?
>
>What was the first arboretum in the U. S.?
>
>What is the longest operating arboretum in the U. S.
that is still
open?
>
>What was the first zoological garden in the U. S.?
>
>What is the longest operating zoological garden in
the U. S. that is
>still open?
>
>What was the first anthropology/archaeology museum in
the U. S.?
>
>What is the longest operating
anthropology/archaeology museum in the
U.
>S. that is still open?
>
>What was the first military museum in the U. S.?
>
>What is the longest operating military museum in the
U. S. that is
>still open?
>
>What was the first "hall of fame" museum in the U.
S.?
>
>What is the longest operating "hall of fame" museum
in the U. S. that
>is still open?
>
>What was the first college/university museum in the
U. S.?
>
>What is the longest operating college/university
museum in the U. S.
>that is still open?
>
>What was the first mineralogy museum in the U. S.?
>
>What is the longest operating mineralogy museum in
the U. S. that is
>still open?
>
>What was the first natural history museum in the U.
S.?
>
>What is the longest operating natural history museum
in the U. S. that
>is still open?
>
>What was the first transportation museum in the U.
S.?
>
>What is the longest operating transportation museum
in the U. S. that
>is still open?
>
>What was the first medical museum in the U. S.?
>
>What is the longest operating medical museum in the
U. S. that is
still
>open?
>
>I am not certain what the person with the most
correct answers will
>receive, but it definitely will be something special!
>
>Actually, I ask these questions because I don't know
the answers to
>most of them. It seems surprising to me that a
profession that is so
>much involved with history doesn't know much about
its own history.
Or
>maybe I am the one that doesn't know these things.
>
>Sincerely,
>Hugh
>
>
>Hugh H. Genoways
>Professor
>W436 Nebraska Hall
>University of Nebraska-Lincoln
>Lincoln, NE 68588-0514
gaw
Glenn A. Walsh
Electronic Mail - < [log in to unmask] >
Author of History Web Sites on the Internet --
* Buhl Planetarium, Pittsburgh:
< http://www.planetarium.cc >
* Adler Planetarium, Chicago:
< http://adlerplanetarium.tripod.com >
* Astronomer & Optician John A. Brashear:
< http://johnbrashear.tripod.com >
* Andrew Carnegie & Carnegie Libraries:
< http://www.andrewcarnegie.cc >
* Duquesne Incline cable-car railway, Pittsburgh:
< http://www.incline.cc >
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